Man accused of child pornography is a former Carson substitute teacher

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The Carson City man arrested Thursday on child-pornography charges is a former substitute teacher.

But contrary to Thursday’s decision by a magistrate, Marcus Gabriel Henderson won’t be let out of jail pending trial on the charges. U.S. District Judge Clive Jones, in a one-paragraph order, blocked his release Friday until a hearing in his court on the matter.

Carson City School District Superintendent Richard Stokes confirmed Friday that Henderson, 33, taught in the district during the past school year. He said Henderson had 22 assignments during the year “at all levels.”

The school year from September through May, there were no complaints about Henderson’s conduct in class and no signs of anything improper on his part, Stokes said.

The standard background check before he was hired revealed no prior misconduct, Stokes added.

But he said the district took immediate action after learning Henderson had been arrested.

“Obviously, he was removed immediately,” Stokes said.

The district will investigate to make sure Henderson didn’t do anything improper while teaching.

Henderson was arrested for allegedly using a hidden camera in the bathroom of his mother’s home on Thompson Street to take videos of two young girls, one of them 13 at the time.

After a search warrant for his mother’s home was granted, agents reported finding the camera and a data-card inside it containing 277 video clips of the girls.

According to the complaint filed by Homeland Security Special Agent Sean Heeran, Henderson convinced or coerced the victims into engaging in “sexually explicit conduct.”

The complaint charges that Henderson admitted secretly recording the children and that the videos sexually aroused him.

He also reportedly told investigators he had made about 500 such videos, each lasting about one minute, since moving to Carson City in September 2012 and that he had sent some of them to other people in exchange for child pornography.

Confirmation that Henderson was a substitute teacher came as prosecutors appealed to a federal district judge to prevent Henderson’s release on bail pending trial.

U.S. Magistrate Robert McQuaid on Thursday granted him release, but stayed the actual release until a district judge could review the U.S. Attorney’s office appeal.

Judge Jones ordered that Henderson remain in custody pending a hearing on the issue. No hearing date has yet been set.

At this point, Henderson is being represented by the federal public defender’s office.

His counsel told McQuaid Thursday that Henderson is employed as a freelance landscaper.